Aaron Donald, Khalil Mack contract extensions intertwined

Past two NFL Defensive Player of the Year winners in line for massive deals

The Raiders have made it clear that they want to get defensive end Khalil Mack signed to a long-term contract extension before he hits free agency. The Rams are just as adamant about taking care of defensive tackle Aaron Donald before 2019 rolls around, too. Therein lies the rub. Mack and Donald arrived in the

Steve has covered the Raiders in some capacity since their return to Oakland in 1995. He was the full-time beat writer from 1997-2010. for the Contra Costa Times, Oakland Tribune and San Jose Mercury News and covered more than 400 NFL games, including four Super Bowls. He also is the co-author of a recently released book titled "Al Davis: Behind the Raiders Shield."

Comments 7

He knows he’s going to get paid and deservedly so. I don’t know the man but I get the sense Mack won’t get caught up in who signs first seems like a just want to play kinda guy, especially when you consider that Donald has already held out in regards to this extension. Whichever contract is most will only be temporary anyways , I mean in today’s NFL you can play 7 games and become the highest paid player ever … yes EVER !!!

I love Carr, but Mack is definitely more deserving of his coming contract than Carr has been so far. One thing that gets me is all these players say they want to win now and want to win a super bowl but they all want to be paid top dollar I look at guys like Tom Brady and Big Ben these guys chose to take less in order for there team to surround more talent and be more successful and look there teams are always in the play offs. I wonder as a player for instance Khalil Mack that’s due to break the bank does it ever cross his mind to think you know what instead of taking 20m a year what if I take 15m and demand the team to surround more talent on defense. 15m is still a shit load of money.

Interesting to see how the Raiders handle trying to keep a potentially top-tier QB and a genuine Defensive superstar happy financially and bold a strong roster around them. Can’t think of any teams that have had to do this recently – mainly because you don’t often get this quality from two players in the same draft class…
Anyhow, it would be great to see No52 & No4 put the team first – showing real leadership – but they need to be reassured of their value to the team so no cheap offers from the GM please to try and take advantage.
Play it straight, offer Mack serious money and he will sign, i think regardless of what happens with Donald (love that guy too, what a player he is!) Mack is a genuine baller and will want to get this done but understandably will want to be covered for life.

Just on stats from last season, Mack deserves more. However, it’s not always if you are a better player, rather who has the cap space. Rams vastly outnumber the Raiders in space. Seeing how Reg doesn’t like to back load contracts, I’d bet AD gets the better deal.

I do however agree with a previous poster that Mack isn’t going to demand to be the highest paid. What’s the tag number going for a LB in ’18?

Great stuff, William. One addendum: The contract likely will be backloaded, for two reasons. One, it would give the Raiders more flexibility this year. Two, Mack would earn more in the long run because any of his salary from 2020 and beyond would not be subject to state income tax in Nevada. Yeah, Mack and Donald don’t strike me as players that would demand to be the highest-paid, but their agents are paid to act on their behalf. That usually translates to pushing for maximum dollars. Thanks for weighing in.

Great point Cork. I did not take into account the Nevada tax laws. For sure the agents want to get max $, but at some point the player has to step in if the talks between agent and owner get contentious. I doubt at this point in his career, Mack wants to leave the Raiders with GRU coming aboard as coach and a new stadium, and a new beginning for this storied franchise.